Actually, “gormless”, at only two syllables, is an improvement in tendencies of politicians to add more and more syllables to everything. It’s a great anglosaxon term! Gormless is actually a lot more relevant than “lacking ticker” as it implies a lack of understanding and intelligence – something critical to a treasurer (or indeed any pollie).
Some of the wiktionary gormless quotes going from E.Bronte through to J.K.Rowling.